Ace Prankster
by Lumos314
Summary: It's April Fool's Day, and those at the Wright Anything Agency, as well as a few other friends, are in for a few pranks! However, there's an Ace Prankster who's making sure no one is left out. How will everyone cope? And will they ever find out who's behind the tricks?
1. Chapter 1 - Phoenix

**Phoenix**

I yawned, trying to ignore the high-pitched wail of my alarm, but I couldn't quite fight it off. I slapped around, hoping to hit the snooze button, and managed to turn off the beeping after a couple seconds. I relaxed, and let the silence continue until the awful racket started again, five minutes later.

This time, I gave in to the sad fact that it was time to get up, and climbed out of bed to brush my teeth. As I finished, swishing water around in my mouth, I glanced up at the reflection of my hair, expecting to see slightly droopy and messy spikes that I would later comb to perfection. Instead, I started hard enough to send a mixture of toothpaste and water all over the mirror.

Overnight, someone had carefully brushed all the spikes into one, so it looked like I had a giant party hat sticking off the back of my head. As I got over my surprise, I smiled and shook my head. _Trucy…_ I thought, realizing who had messed up my hair. _Ah, well. It'll come out in the shower._

As I stepped in, however, I noticed that my shampoo had been hidden, and that the product in my hair was waterproof. I scrubbed a bit, giving up when it didn't come out and supposing that I'd humor my daughter.

After a little while and a bowl of cereal, I made my way downstairs to open up the Agency. As I pulled up the blinds to the front window, I saw a sign reading "April Fool's!". It was completely dark outside, and the moon still had a long way to go before it set. It took me a moment to catch on, but then I chuckled. _That girl sure is something…_

I made a quick stop by the kitchen before confirming my suspicions. The clock in Trucy's room, as I'd guessed, was five hours ahead of all the others. I gave another small laugh before returning the favor by spraying a little whipped cream on her face and making my way to my bed to get some sleep.

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Author's Note: So, I realized how soon April Fool's day is, and decided that, since I'm not a huge prankster, the way to make up for it would be to write a fanfic! ;D Each chapter will be a prank on someone, though the people involved will vary. Also, there's one person who's the Ace Prankster, and all will be revealed at the end. ;)

This is my first multi-chapter Ace Attorney fic, so I'm excited to see how it goes. :D I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but it will probably be every day or two, if I'm lucky.

I realize this isn't the funniest one, but I hopefully have some better ones in store. :)

Requests/suggestions and reviews are welcome and appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2 - Athena

**Athena**

"I'M APOLLO JUSTICE, AND I'M FINE!" _The person in question, who happened to be wearing a purple, frilly dress, shouted as he stood next to me in the hot air balloon._

_"I know, Apollo. Now be quiet, I'm trying to charm this snake!" I was playing my violin softly, attempting to hypnotize the cobra lying between us into juggling some bowling pins._

"I'M APOLLO JUSTICE, AND I'M FINE!"_ Again he shouted, scaring the snake so it suddenly turned into an angry elephant that picked me up in its trunk and threw me out of the basket. I was falling and falling and..._

I woke with a start. _What a weird dream…_ It was four in the morning, and, after a moment of calming myself down, I turned over to get some more sleep before work.

"YOU'RE ATHENA CYKES, AND YOU'RE FINE!" I froze as my coworker's voice rang through my apartment.

"Apollo?" I waited, now wide awake, hoping I had just imagined it.

"YOU'RE ATHENA CYKES, AND YOU'RE FINE!" No suck luck. I got out of bed to investigate. The sound seemed to come from quite close by, so I looked around a bit while I waited for the next shout.

"YOU'RE TRUCY WRIGHT, AND YOU'RE FINE!" This time, I swung towards it and began moving things around.

"YOU'RE TRUCY WRIGHT, AND YOU'RE FINE!" I found a dresser drawer sticking slightly out, and I pulled it open, throwing clothes over my shoulders to find the source of the noise.

"YOU'RE C-" Apollo's voice cracked, on what I assumed was a recording of his Chords of Steel practice, before it dropped several decibels. "You're Clay Terran…" He trailed off and I paused. _I never realized how much that still hurts him…_ I sat in silence for a minute before he continued.

"YOU'RE EMA SKYE, AND YOU'RE FINE!" I resumed my tossing of clothes as Apollo moved on to someone I didn't know. When I pulled them all out, however, there was nothing to be found.

"YOU'RE EMA SKYE, AND YOU'RE FINE!" On an impulse, I took out the drawer. Behind it was a speaker connected to an iPod. Taped to the latter was a note that said "**April Fool's**!" in big, block letters that I couldn't recognize. I clenched my fists, annoyed and frustrated, before Apollo shouted again.

"YOU'RE KLAVIER GAVIN, AND YOU'RE FINE!" I turned off the device, and waited, half expecting to hear another outburst. Thankfully, there wasn't. I gave a sigh of relief as I calmed down and started to clean up the mess I had made in my frantic search.

Picking up my shirts, I let my mind wander. _How in the world did anyone get in? I'm the only one with a key, besides my landlady...and I can't see her helping anyone with this. I'm also pretty sure it's not Apollo, since he probably wouldn't have wanted me to hear the part about Clay. So who could have done it?_

The job finished, I climbed back in bed, still pondering this mysterious person as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Author's Note: Yay. :D I had been hoping to get this up tonight. Glad I could!

This is the first chapter with the Ace Prankster. ;D

Again, reviews and such are appreciated. :)


	3. Chapter 3 - Pearl

Author's Note: "We now interrupt our regularly scheduled program..."

All the rest of the chapters should be in the post-DD timeline, but this one is post-TT, pre-disbarrment.

* * *

**Pearl**

I always loved it when Mystic Maya would take trips with me to the city! We always got to go see Mr. Nick, which was super fun, even if I felt bad for stealing attention away from his special someone.

There was one time, though, when we were there on April 1st.

I woke up in Mystic Maya's a-part-ment one morning, ready to have a fun day with her and Mr. Nick. We were supposed to go to her favorite burger place, and I always loved getting to see Mr. Nick buy her lunch even though he didn't want to, because she was his special someone!

Anyway, when I went to breakfast that morning, I noticed that Mystic Maya was wearing a very pretty ring on her left hand. I was so excited, but I wanted to wait until I saw Mr. Nick before jumping to con-clue-sions.

After waiting forever, we finally went to lunch. The first thing I did was look at Mr. Nick's left hand, and there was a ring that looked kind of like Mystic Maya's! I was so excited that I burst out, "You're getting married?!"

"Yes!" They both said at the same time while smiling. I grinned and jumped around, I was so excited!

"I knew you were special someone's!" I kept jumping around until they said more.

"Pearly...I'm not getting married to Nick." Mystic Maya looked concerned, and I got very confused.

"Then why do you both have matching rings?"

"Oh, that's just a coincidence." Mr. Nick said. When he saw that I didn't understand, he added, "That means it was an accident; we didn't mean for them to be similar."

"Oh…" I stopped jumping. I was still unsure though. "Who are you marrying, then?" I asked sus-spicious-ly.

"I proposed to Iris yesterday. Our wedding is going to be in June." Mr. Nick smiled happily, but I was too shocked to say anything.

"Me and Mr. Edgeworth, or, well, Miles, are getting married in July." Mystic Maya smiled, too.

That's when I realized exactly what was going on. Mr. Nick was getting married to someone that was not his _special_ someone! I got really angry, and I clenched my fists before running up to him and slapping him as hard as I could a bunch of times. Mystic Maya just stood by laughing very hard.

"Ow! Pearls! What's that for!?" Mr. Nick tried to run away but I followed and kept slapping him.

"_Mystic Maya_ is your special someone! You can't marry anyone else!"

"Maya, help me! Ow!" Mystic Maya was bent over laughing. She shook her head. "I didn't realize it would be this painful when I agreed to this!"

I stopped hitting him. "When you agreed to what?"

"Ha ha...April Fool's!" Mystic Maya said through her giggles. "Me and Nick aren't really getting married to anyone!" Mr. Nick glared at her, and she laughed even harder.

"You're not?" I asked. Mr. Nick shook his head.

"Nope. April Fool's Day is a special day of the year when people play pranks on each other, because its funny." He smiled, but he looked like he was still in pain.

"What's a 'prank'?"

"It's a joke. Like if you called me and pretended to order a pizza to confuse me. Or if you put green dye in my shampoo. Our prank on you was we pretended we were getting married to other people."

"Oh." My face felt hot, and I wasn't sure how to react. "Um...I'm really sorry, Mr. Nick. I didn't know it was supposed to be funny."

He smiled and I felt a little better. "It's alright, Pearls. That's the point; sometimes the person doesn't know it's a prank until afterwards." I was still confused and embarrassed, but he gave me a hug and I knew it was okay.

"Don't be sorry, Pearly! That was _hilarious_!" Mystic Maya was still laughing. After a minute, Mr. Nick joined her. And then, so did I.

After a while, we stopped and got our lunch. Mr. Nick paid for Mystic Maya like always, and it made me happy. As we were leaving, Mr. Nick leaned down and whispered to me, "When you get home, put this around the sprayer on the sink." He handed me a rubber band and winked.

So, even though I felt bad for hurting Mr. Nick when he didn't deserve it, I still had a lot of fun that day.

* * *

Author's Note 2.0: I had fun with that one, even though I'm not sure if I wrote Pearl right. I think I may have underestimated her vocabulary. But oh well. :)

I made a reference to a certain Green-ix Wright story in there. If you didn't get it, you should go read AceFangirl's _Unusual Punishment_ and its sequel! :D

No Ace Prankster here, but I couldn't resist the idea. ;D


	4. Chapter 4 - Apollo

**Apollo**

I woke up on the morning of April first feeling content and rested. I had a few minutes until my alarm went off, so I spent it lying still, listening to the peaceful sound of rain. I let my mind wander, thinking about the tasks ahead of me that day.

And then I realized what holiday it was. I groaned, thinking about all the pranks that were surely waiting for me. Of course, I figured Athena would get the majority of them, since it was her first April Fool's Day with the Wright's and I'd paid my dues the last two years. But it would have been foolish to think I could avoid everything.

I got up and cautiously looked around my apartment for jokes. I was glad I had done so when I found saran wrap on the toilet and packing peanuts in my umbrella. _How'd they get in while I was sleeping? I have the only key. This is crazy!_ I pondered this for a moment as I cleaned up the attempted tricks. _Then again, the Wright's are crazy themselves, so…_

I sighed, and went to take my shower. It took me an extra five minutes because there was cherry jello powder mixed in with my shampoo and I had to find my back-up bottle. I still had plenty of time once my hair was dried, however, so I wasn't too concerned.

I made sure to check my hair gel before slathering it over my head. I wanted my hairstyle intact, since it gets made fun of enough as it is.

After styling my hair, I made my way to the kitchen to make breakfast. I usually just grabbed some cereal or a bagel and coffee, but I figured the Wright's knew that, which motivated me to scramble some eggs and fry a little bacon. It was just as I was about to sit down at the table of my dark living room that I looked up, happening to catch a glance of myself in the mirror. That's when I noticed.

My hair was glowing. It was a bright, steady orange, as if someone had broken a glow stick and dumped it on my head, and looked like flames if I moved too fast.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring. I was sure I had checked every hair product I'd used that morning, so I wasn't sure how in the world it was happening. After a bit, I snapped out of it and turned the lights on so I could eat.

I couldn't stop pondering the situation, though. _Could someone have put something in my hair last night? But I took a shower this morning… Maybe it's some sort of chemical. I'll have to ask Ema about it later._

After I rinsed my dishes, I went back to double check everything I'd used. It all seemed perfectly untouched, until I opened my supposedly innocent hair gel. It was clearly the culprit, as it was glowing the same shade as my hair.

I scowled, and at that moment a post-it note fell off the bottom of the container. I bent down to pick it up, reading the message on the front: "April fool's!" My hair, still bright orange, drooped.

_...I'll get you guys for this!_

* * *

Author's Note: Man, that wasn't supposed to take that long! It took me forever to think of something to do to his hair...And I didn't actually think of this 'til I was halfway through writing the chapter!

Anyway, this is an Ace Prankster chapter, though it's not necessarily a Wright. I figured he would blame them, though, especially after Apollo Justice.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/favorited/followed. That always makes my day! :D

Expect some office pranks soon. ;D


	5. Chapter 5 - Gumshoe and Klavier

**Gumshoe**

_Today must be my lucky day!_ I double checked the article from the newspaper, ordered after I had gotten a very rare raise, not believing my eyes. But the advertisement hadn't changed.

**Are you tired of being looked down upon because you can't sing? Now you have the opportunity to shine! Call 323-224-8864 and sing "Baby Chick Ballad" by the famous band Birdwing as obnoxiously as possible. Whoever can sing it in the most awfully and annoyingly wins the prize of $250. The contest only runs on April 1st, so call in now!**

I was so excited; that was my favorite song by what used to be my favorite band, before a case took me up close and personal to the members. Plus, Mr. Edgeworth always threatened to cut my salary whenever I sang it.

I really could have used that money, pal. Maggie's birthday was coming up soon, and I wanted to get her something nice. But I was already living off instant noodles again, and my electricity was barely paid for.

I took a minute to make sure I remembered all the lyrics before calling the number and singing away.

"I'm still just a baby chick, but one day I'll be a fine rooster with a cockscomb!" I screamed the song with all my heart and soul. When I finished, I waited for a reply. After a few moments of silence, I asked, "How did I do?"

"Achtung! What the heck was that?!"

**Klavier**

I had been sleeping in that morning, glad to have finally finished my latest case, when I was abruptly awoken by my ringing phone. I yawned, picking it up, and was about to greet the caller when my ears were assaulted by some awful noise. It took me a minute to realize that the person on the other end was not imitating a dying cat, but was, in fact, singing.

And of all the songs they could have picked, it was my least favorite song by the band who had back stabbed us, and tried to ruin the Gavineers.

I sat through the few minutes of torture, holding on to the knowledge that it would end soon. When it was finally over, I moaned a little and rubbed my poor, ringing ears as I heard him ask, "How did I do?"

I took a moment to pause before shouting, "Achtung! What the heck was that?!"

After a second, he replied, "Isn't there a contest, pal? To see who can sing 'Baby Chick Balad' the best?"

"What on earth are you talking about? Where did you get my phone number?!" As a superstar, I always had to be careful about giving out my contact information so I wouldn't be spammed by fangirls.

"It was the article in the newspaper, pal. On page B3 from this morning." At this moment, I recognized the confused, somewhat desperate voice of Detective Gumshoe and relaxed a little. _Mein Gott, I didn't realize he was such a bad singer._ I decided to keep this knowledge to myself, however, to save him even more embarrassment.

I reluctantly got out of bed and grabbed said paper from my doorstep. After leafing through, I saw he was right.

"How…? I didn't put that in there!" My anger was giving way to confusion and annoyance as I pondered how and why someone did this.

"Does this mean there's no contest, pal?" He sounded so crestfallen that I felt terrible for disappointing him.

"No, there's not."

I heard a long, sad sigh over the phone before he spoke. "Just my luck. I needed that money...my girlfriend's birthday is soon and I can barely afford to eat…" Now I felt even worse. I'd heard the rumors of his frequently cut pay, but never realized it was this low.

"Chin up, ja? Perhaps your boss will give you a raise today." Maybe I could do something about that later…

"...Hey, you're right! Thanks, pal! Have a nice day!"

"You too." He hung up after that, and I was glad I could give him some encouragement.

I yawned, realizing I still had a while before I had to be up, so I went back to sleep.

Later, as I was leaving Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's office after talking to him about Detective Gumshoe, my phone vibrated. I almost passed it off as another eager contestant, I'd gotten about 25 already, before I realized it was in the rhythm for a text rather than a phone call. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was Herr Forehead, and it pointed out the obvious cause of my problems. It read, "April Fool's!" _...Oh._ I gave a sardonic laugh. _Of course._

I sent my reply as I walked back down to my office. "So you're the one behind all this?" I tried to focus on work while waiting for an answer, but I kept periodically glancing at my phone.

After a couple hours, it finally vibrated again. "What are you talking about? By the way, I didn't send that last text, someone stole my phone."

"Who? And I've been getting calls all day. Check page B3 of the newspaper."

This time his reply only took a few minutes. "Oh...Ouch. And I dunno who stole it. Maybe they're behind it?"

"Maybe."

I looked down at the case in front of me. I had picked it up during my discussion with Mr. Edgeworth, one that had come in early this morning: an April Fool's prank gone wrong.

I sighed. _Can I please just be done with this holiday?_

* * *

Author's Note - Sorry this took so long...I wasn't intending for life to catch up to me. ;) I think it's going to be a while between updates now...But I'll try to aim for every week or two. :D

Also, I totally forgot about the disclaimer! So, I officially don't own Ace Attorney. :)

Birdwing is actually from the Investigations manga. If you haven't read it, go check it out! The Phoenix ones are amazing, even if the translation of the Edgeworth ones aren't quite all that great. But it's still more Ace Attorney stories. ;D

If you haven't already guessed, this is an Ace Prankster chapter. :)

Oh, and poor Gummy gets his raise, and it's not an April Fool's prank. ;D


	6. Chapter 6 - Ema and Trucy

**Ema**

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I downed the steaming cup of coffee. Despite being dressed and ready, I was still exhausted from my late night. Trucy had invited me to her forensics club after school to give a presentation, and I was ecstatic. On the downside, I had been up really late practicing my favorite techniques for the speech. So here I was, hoping I would have an easy day at work and fiddling with my glasses while I waited for the Snackoo flavored Pop-Tart to heat up.

Then I froze. I had seen something against the pink of my peripheral vision. Worried, I slid them on and turned.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" There was a huge blue spot shining on the floor. A spot that could only be from a Luminol reaction.

I tremulously moved towards it. _This is a _lot_ of blood! Someone must have been seriously hurt! Or...no, that's impossible! Nobody's been murdered in my apartment!_

There was a trail leading to my white-carpeted living room. I followed it, trying not to shake. It snaked down the hallway, into the rather large closet where I kept my forensics supplies. I stood for a moment, staring at the door and afraid of what I might find. _I'm fine, there's nothing in there._ My hand fumbled with the knob for a moment before I flung the closet open.

_Thank goodness._ I breathed a sigh of relief when nothing fell out or jumped on me. There was a slightly open bottle of bleach hanging off a shelf, drops of liquid slowly falling into a puddle on the carpet. _Oh, of course..._ In my terror, I'd forgotten that bleach and Luminol react. I blushed, embarrassed at my mistake.

Then, I looked back down at the carpet. The stain was patterned in a weird way, in what seemed to be letters. "A...p...r...wait a second!"

I could feel my face go beet red as my palm hit my forehead. _Of course. It's April 1st..._

By the time my embarrassment had turned to frustration, which was only a few moments, it took all my willpower to not hit something. As it was I slammed the doors hard enough to hear the bottles rattling inside. My Pop-Tart helped me cool down a bit, but I was still grumpy when I went in to the Precinct.

Of course, I immediately got directed to a new crime scene: a young woman dead in her house. She was slumped on the couch, the TV still on to some infomercial. Sitting next to her was a pack of mint Oreos, all but one eaten. By the looks of it, someone had swapped out the cream for toothpaste.

I sighed. _More pranks to deal with? Great._

Getting to use my favorite skills, however, made it worth the fuss. The day went by quickly and it only felt like a few minutes before I had to leave for the high school. I stopped by my apartment to gather some of my supplies that I couldn't really carry with me, and then I was off.

After about 10 minutes and some directions from Trucy, I arrived at the cafeteria, where the group was starting to gather. I stood around awkwardly for a few moments before I was attacked from behind.

"Ema!" I looked behind me to see a figure in a baby blue sweater and knee-length, navy skirt, with her arms wrapped around my waist. It took a second to recognize her.

"Trucy? What happened to your magician's outfit?"

She grinned as she let go. "Capes and hats and strapless dresses are against the dress code… I'm going to go change into it though. You can start setting up on stage while I do that." She darted out of the room, presumably to her locker, and I took that as my cue to get out my supplies. It felt a little odd because everyone kept staring at me, but then Trucy came back with a teacher in tow.

"Ema, this is Mrs. Monroe, the teacher who leads Forensics Club. Mrs. Monroe, this is Detective Ema Skye, the guest speaker I invited." Trucy bounced happily as she introduced us.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm glad you could come today." The woman smiled kindly as we shook hands.

"I'm glad too. I love getting to demonstrate my skills to kids who are willing to learn!"

Mrs. Monroe was about to say something, but another girl came up with a question. "Sorry, I need to help this student. Go ahead and set up; we can start whenever you're ready." With that, the teacher walked off and I was left with Trucy.

After a few more minutes, I was ready to go. Everyone gathered and sat down, except for my magician friend. She introduced me to the crowd, and then I began.

I had put together all my most showy techniques. Everyone had been given a pair of glasses like mine, so they could see when I sprayed for blood, atroquinine, and footprints. I went down into the audience and got a volunteer to do a fingerprint dusting. I showed them my X-Ray Analyzer, also using a volunteer. I really enjoyed myself, and it was even better when I asked for questions. A couple of kids asked something about my speaking and stage presence...I wasn't sure what they meant, but I tried to answer as best as I could. One boy, though, seemed really interested in what I had to say. He asked about the science behind luminol testing, and I may have gone a little overboard in my explanation.

When I had finally finished, Trucy came back onstage. I had assumed it was to close my presentation, but apparently it was for a different purpose.

"Can we all give another hand for Detective Skye?" Everyone followed her lead when she smiled and began to clap. When the applause died down, she continued. "I'm going to close the curtain now, so she can pack up her supplies. But while she does that, we have Steven Melville performing 'The Bells' by Edgar Allan Poe, and Alicia Emerson reading Holmes's 'The Chambered Nautilus'." Everyone clapped again, and the curtain slid shut.

Trucy bounded over, energetic as always, and said, "That was great! I've always thought your science was a little like my magic; both have an explanation, but are amazing to watch."

I smiled. "Thank you, Trucy. But what was that whole poetry thing about?"

"Were you not planning to stay for the show? I'm performing, you know." Her brow was furrowed and she frowned.

I didn't want to disappoint her, so I obliged, even though I didn't really get what was going on. "Alright. I will."

Her bright smile returned, as did the bouncing. "Yay! Oh, and make sure to wear your glasses during my act!" She hugged me once more then rushed off stage before I could ask why.

**Trucy**

I ran out, trying not to snicker too loudly. I didn't want to disturb the poetry, or give Ema any hints that something was up.

It felt like forever as everyone else performed and I introduced them all. That was probably just because I was so excited for my act, though.

Finally, it was my turn. "Thank you to everyone in the audience, and all those that participated today, especially Detective Skye. Now, it's my turn to close out our show with some magic." I waited for the applause to die down before starting off with my magic panties. I did a few more tricks before it was time to try the new one I'd been practicing.

"This is my top hat." I held the object out so the front row could see. "Does this look like a perfectly normal hat to you?" When they all nodded, I continued. "For this next trick, I'm going to need some pennies. Does anyone have one with them?" There was a rustling as they searched before a few people in the audience held one up. I grabbed a couple and dropped them in the hat.

"Mmm...I think I'm going to need a lot more than that...maybe a few hundred. Sorry guys!" I slid the hat back on my head as the audience groaned in disappointment. I glanced back at Ema. She seemed very engaged, but confused and fidgety as well.

I concealed my smirk easily as I moved on to another trick. A couple of well hidden adjustments later, I felt the extra weight of the 200 copper coins over my head.

"Wow...my hat's getting a little heavy..." I pulled it off, holding it high, and shook. All the pennies came spilling out, along with some fine powder. The coins pushed it into a mushroom cloud shape, and as the audience clapped, I sneezed. Luckily, I had brought a prop for such an occasion, and a carnation appeared in my hand as I finished. But the cloud hadn't fallen yet, and I continued sneezing. After a few more times, the powder had finally settled, and I stopped.

"Oops! I suppose I made sneezing powder appear too!" Everyone chuckled, thank goodness, and as I joined them I saw a note on the stage, half tucked within the coins. I could guess what it said, since I certainly hadn't put anything with the pennies. I _had_, however, showed Apollo how the trick worked. I wasn't mad though. He would definitely receive his payback later.

As I decided this, I finished off my show by making a Forensics Club banner fall from the ceiling, seemingly without supports. The best part, though, was the look, caught between anger, understanding, and astonishment, on Ema's face when she saw the message I had written her underneath with a little bleach: "**Forensics can also be the art of public speaking. April fools!**" She had mentioned before that the chemical reacted to Luminol, so I had swiped some of both when she was setting up. I was glad I had, because it was really hard to keep from bursting into laughter onstage.

"That's it folks! Thanks for watching and have a happy April Fool's Day!" Just before I bounced my way off stage, I gave an innocent grin and winked at my detective friend.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry this has taken a while to get up! I've got big tests that I'm studying for...so I've been writing here and there. It may or may not be a while 'til my next update...

Yes, I did take some (Actually, prob'ly a lot) of liberty with their Forensics Club. I'm pretty sure magic wouldn't be considered part of it. But maybe Trucy just, well, worked her magic on Mrs. Monroe. ;D And I apologize if either Trucy or Ema is OOC...I've never written either of them, so I may have misinterpreted. :)

Again, I wanted to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, or favorited. You guys make my day! :D


	7. Chapter 7 - Edgeworth

Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony. Or Ace Attorney, but I'm pretty sure I already said that one.

* * *

I paced nervously back and forth through my office, eyeing the papers strewn across my desk. _She's late. Again!_ She hadn't been on time when we last met, either, but then I had just kept working until she arrived. However, this time I had found a nice stopping point and was waiting with my coat on and my paperwork finished for the day, for once. _If she doesn't get here soon we'll miss the movie!_

I took a last sip of tea, placing the empty cup in the saucer on my bookshelf while staring out the huge window in the back of my office. A minute slipped by, and then another. I crossed my arms and tapped my finger, thinking about the email I'd received a few days ago. It was from Wright, something he'd seen a while back about a special showing at the Deja View.

A knock on the door interrupted my musing. "Come in." It opened, revealing the blue top hat and cape of the girl I'd been waiting for.

"Sorry I'm late, Uncle Edgey!" she said as I frowned at the nickname she'd picked up from Larry. "Ema was our guest speaker at Forensics Club, so I stayed and talked with her a while afterwards." She smirked for some unknown reason, but I let it pass.

"Are you ready to go, then?" I double checked that I had everything I needed as she nodded. "Then let's head out." I followed her into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

"So...what are we going to see again?" Trucy tilted her head, crossing her arms thoughtfully.

"Your father sent me an email about a special showing of The Steel Samurai: Destruction of Neo Olde Tokyo. He thought you might like to spend some time with me and that I should take you to see it." She stopped at the elevator, but I tapped her shoulder and continued to the stairs.

"Could you say that last part again? About why I'm here?"

I wasn't sure why she would want me to repeat something she clearly heard, but I complied. " I said that your father suggested I take you to the movie."

"Gotcha!" She said triumphantly. I stared at her, confused, for a moment before she noticed. "Oops...I guess I picked that one up from Polly." She shrugged her shoulders and stuck out her tongue for a split second before appearing serious, a rare event for her. "Anyway, something was off about that statement. Right as you said, 'your father suggested', you adjusted your glasses."

"Ah, you're referencing my 'nervous tell', correct?" As comprehension dawned on me, she gave a nod and we passed the eighth floor. "However, I don't see what you're implying. Care to elaborate?"

She smiled, noticing my only slightly concealed challenge. If she'd already caught me once, there was no point in continuing the lie, as she'd only become more persistent. However, that didn't mean I had to make it easy. "So you want evidence, then, Uncle Edgey?" I nodded, with a proud smirk. Her father may have taught her how to bluff and beg and slip through trials by the skin of her teeth, despite the loss of his badge, but she's learned quite a lot about the other aspects of the justice system from me. Over the years I'd often challenged her to put together some pieces from my latest case, explained some of the history of law (though she only seemed to find certain parts of that interesting), demonstrated the importance of both circumstantial and decisive evidence, and helped guide her logical skills.

At the moment, she was thinking, fingertip on her chin, about how to prove her assertion. "Well…" I had to resist the urge to give her a hint. While I usually enjoyed our games quite a lot, I would rather that she not discover the secret behind this one. I couldn't help but be pleased, however, when she said, "Aha! If we examine the email, then we can see whether Daddy really said that or not!" She grinned, and her steps seemed a little bit bouncier.

"That sounds like a plausible solution to me." I pulled out my smartphone, opening my emails and handing it to her. "Here it is. You can take a look."

It only took her a few seconds of scanning the note to see the error. "Objection! This evidence contradicts your testimony!" She looked up at me, one hand on her hip and the other tilting her hat. "Daddy never said anything about me! He just said that you might want to see the movie."

I gave her a quick pat on the shoulder before saying, "Good. Now, what conclusions can you draw from this new information?"

Again, she spent a moment thinking. "Uncle Edgey..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Uncle Edgey, I assert that you are, in fact, a Steel Samurai fan!"

I was visibly taken aback. _Ngh! But how did she figure it out that quickly?_ After taking a moment to gather my composure, I said "How does this relate to the matter at hand?" while tapping my finger against my arm.

"Well, if you are a Steel Samurai fan, then you clearly don't want anyone to know. Also, if you wanted to see the movie, you needed a kid to use as your 'excuse' to go. I happen to be the best candidate for the job, so you invited me."

Her startling accuracy worried me; I felt like a defense attorney having to protect a guilty client. "Alright. Now that you've proven the relevance, why don't you prove the validity? What evidence do you have to support your claims?"

She smiled. "The Steel Samurai statue and board game in your office."

"Those are simply gifts from people who are… important to me." Gumshoe, who had bought the game as a New Year's present for me, fit that description well, despite his bumbling tendencies. The giver of the statute, however… Let's just say that the significance she holds in my life is quite different than I'd implied.

Trucy, thankfully, didn't see through my stretched truth. She jumped slightly, her cape fluttering as her hand flew to her mouth. "Ah!"

It was at that moment that we emerged into the parking lot of the Prosecutors' Office. The corners of my niece's mouth twitched upwards, but I dismissed it when they quickly fell. We continued towards my sports car, and I smirked as I noticed how perfectly clean it looked.

And then I saw the note on the windshield.

**I'm so sorry I hit your car! I don't have insurance or the money to pay for it, but I'll make it up to you! I promise!**

**P.S. Please don't sue me. If I need to, I can get a very good defense attorney or three.**

"Wh…" I stared blankly at the page for a moment. "WHAT?!" I turned it over, looking all around the paper to see if I missed something, to no avail.

"What's wrong, Uncle Edgey?" Trucy said, an innocent look of concern on her face.

I handed her the note. "This...This is the most vague, inconsiderate apology I've ever seen! It doesn't say what the damage was, who this person is, or how they will 'make it up to me'. If this was a witness testimony, even the most useless defense attorney could make a case. In fact, I think that _parrot_ was more detailed than this!" I crossed my arms, clenching my hands tightly.

After a moment of silence, still reeling from my outburst, I took a deep breath. _I must think about this logically._ My hands relaxed and I began tapping my finger, though my scowl stayed in place. _This mystery person said they hit my car. Most likely, this means they left some sort of visible damage. If I can find that, then that will at least answer one of my many questions._ A nod of the head settled it and I got to work, examining the car carefully. "Trucy, could you help me? I'm trying to find any signs of damage."

"Sure!" She bounced over happily, and began looking at the front. _I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious-looking nook and cranny._

After going around the car twice with no results, my frustration was beginning to rise again. "Ngh. My logic couldn't have failed me…"

As my scowl got deeper and deeper, Trucy spoke up. "Uncle Edgey, I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back!" She grinned and dashed off towards the stairs.

It was only by the time I had examined my car five times, and was livid to the point of muttering words much stronger than I would normally use under my breath, that I saw the small, crumpled Post-It note nestled in my exhaust pipe. It read: "**Happy April Fool's Day! No one hit your car; it's perfectly fine.**" Again, I stared at the page, getting more and more outraged by the second. I venomously said a few more expletives, louder this time, before tearing the note in half and throwing it in the nearest garbage can. My face burned at the thought of getting so worked up over nothing, and I was glad that my niece had disappeared for the time being.

Trucy bounded around the corner just as I slid into the driver's seat and shut the door a little too hard. She climbed in beside me, saying "I'm back! Did you find the evidence?"

"Hmm? Oh, it was just nothing." I looked away and pretended to busy myself adjusting the mirrors. I realized my response was more than inadequate and vague, as well as slightly nonsensical, but I was very glad that she didn't press further.

I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot while Trucy began to play on her phone. After a few minutes, she started up a conversation again, though I was only half listening. Between driving and trying to calm myself, I didn't register most of what she said.

"... the Steel Samurai's only child, the Iron Infant -" The name caught my attention, as well as the incorrect fact.

"Would you repeat that, please?"

"Yep! I was talking about how Pearly and I got together yesterday and watched the prequel to the movie we're seeing so I would know more of the backstory. We decided that the best part was when the Evil Magistrate pretended to kill the Steel Samurai's only child, the Iron Infant, but kidnapped him instead. We both totally thought that he was dead, so we were really excited when he turned out alive! Oh, and that part where the Steel Samurai Final Smash failed, since it had always worked in the past and is supposed to be his most powerful move, according to Pearly." I cringed slightly at the many faults in her statement. Dire errors such as those could not stand uncorrected.

"Actually, that's not quite right. First of all, the Steel Samurai has daughter, the Copper Kid, who plays an extremely important role in this movie. In addition, there were many clues scattered throughout The Steel Samurai: the Evil Magistrate Strikes Back that the Iron Infant had not, in fact, been murdered. They were quite obvious if you knew where to look, so that 'plot twist' was no surprise to me. Lastly, The Steel Samurai Final Smash is certainly not his most powerful move, and actually failed during episode 23 of The Pink Samurai: Partners in Life, when, too weak to perform it correctly, he tries in vain to use it to escape his confines before his wife comes to rescue him. His best move is definitely the Steel Samurai Rain of Justice. Even though it only works 87.4% of the time, in The Steel Samurai: the Video Game, it deals 25 more damage and decreases the attack of all enemies in the area."

We turned into the parking lot, and I glanced at Trucy, who was wearing a smile that was both impish and triumphant. "...Uncle Edgey, I don't think anyone who isn't a Steel Samurai fan could have possibly said anything like that."

"...Nnnghhhoooh!" My eyes got wide as I realized I was now like the defense attorney whose cross examination put the final nail in the defendant's coffin. I gripped the steering wheel and began tapping my finger while I pulled into a space, my heartbeat quickening. After parking, I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to my niece. "Trucy… please don't tell anyone. _Especially_ your father. My reputation would be ruined…"

She looked down, fiddling with her brooch. "Oh...Well...I kinda just texted everyone in my contacts...Including Daddy and Uncle Larry…"

I gasped and cringed, but before I could respond she grinned again. "Just kidding. Happy April Fool's Day, Uncle Edgey!" She winked before hopping out of the car, and I could only watch, dumbfounded, as she skipped into the theater. _I have one devious niece…_

After a moment, I followed her. She was already at the counter, buying tickets from someone I knew very well.

"Edgey! It's been a while!" The man in question grinned, waving frantically to me as I approached.

"Hello, Larry. I didn't realize you were working here." I joined Trucy and began to pull out money from my wallet.

"Heh, yeah. I love art, but it just doesn't pay the bills. Or the dates with Christine."

I raised my eyebrows. "So I suppose she's a model, then?"

"Nope! She may not be as hot as some other chicks, but she's amazing and special. She's different from anyone I've ever gone out with, in the best way possible!" The look on face as he said this was different from any I'd seen on him before: a smile of pure joy, rather than the smirk of pride he used to use when describing a girlfriend.

"So are you saying that she might not be a murderer or a cheater? That she might actually like you?" I smirked as we traded money for tickets.

"Yeah, I think so!" He now had a silly grin plastered on his face. We turned to walk away, Trucy calling a goodbye, before he finally caught on. "Hey! What do you mean 'actually like me'?!"

By that point, however, we had already made our way to the concession stand. I handed her a few dollars, saying "Go ahead and get whatever you'd like; I don't need anything. I'll wait for you over here."

She grinned, bouncing in her bubbly way. "Thanks, Uncle Edgey!" As she dashed away, I began to examine the list of future movies behind me. _Hmm… Perhaps I'll come see The Steel Samurai Versus the World Samurai again. With Trucy, of course._

"...You whippersnappers! Back in my day, people were always polite to their elders! If I had so rudely knocked someone over, I would have immediately apologized. Now I have to turn around and teach you some manners, and I might miss my dear Edgey-poo!" I froze, not wanting to turn around. _No. That word...That voice...That awful nickname...It can't be!_ I snuck a glance over my shoulder, seeing a figure in a blue suit who was pointing an ostentatious toy ray-gun at the two offending teenagers, her head covered by a fishbowl-like helmet. My eyes widened. _Noooooooo!_ I began breathing faster as I looked for an escape route. Luckily, at that moment, my niece bounced up with a bag of popcorn and a drink in her hand.

"Trucy! I need you to make me disappear! Quickly!"

"Edgey-poo! There you are!"

I clenched my teeth. "Please, hurry!" She tilted her head with a furrowed brow. "I have to get away from her!" She whipped out her so-called "Magic Panties" and began to sort through them, but by then it was too late.

"Edgey-poo! I can't believe you! I haven't seen you in a few years and all of a sudden you've got some young whippersnapper trailing after you! You know that we're meant to be but you still went and got a daughter! Back in my day, men didn't hop from one girl to the next, they respected the girlfriend they had! In fact, there was one young man who waited ten years for me after I'd broken up with him! He -" She continued to speak, but I turned my attention to my niece.

Trucy had looked up from her magic trick and was staring at Oldbag, mouth open and eyes wide. "...I didn't know it was possible for someone to talk that fast. Or that much. And that's coming from me!"

"Ms. Oldbag, this isn't my daughter. This is my niece, Trucy Wright."

Having regained her composure, she grabbed the edges of her cape and curtsied with a grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you." _I heartily disagree._

"Oh! Now there's someone who respects their elders!" She smiled, giving Trucy a slight wave. "My name is Wendy Oldbag, dearie, but you can call me 'Wendy' or 'Granny' or whatever suits your fancy, Miss Whippersnapper." _...Is that her attempt at being polite?_

"So what are you doing here, Ms. Wendy?" Trucy returned to bouncing and surreptitiously searching her Magic Panties.

"Just the other day, when I was ordering a new vase of flowers to send to Edgey-poo, someone called me and told me that he would be here today. I would never miss a chance to see my dearest prosecutor!"

Trucy looked up again. "Wait, you send Uncle Edgey flowers?" The oldbag nodded. "By chance… do you send him anything else?"

"Of course! I have to show my appreciation for him somehow! I always send my Edgey-poo the best! I send him sweets, tea, statues… everything I can think of! Ooh, there was one time, back when I worked for Global Studios, when I snuck into the producer's office and stole one of the original prototype designs of the Steel Samurai model and sent it to him! They never said anything about it, but I'm pretty sure that's why I got fired." _Wait, that statue is a one-of-a-kind prototype?!_ Trucy glanced at me with that same impish look in her eyes, grinning at me innocently. "But I didn't mind! I just asked my Edgey-poo if he would let me be his bodyguard! Of course, he likes to play hard to get and refused, but -"

At that moment, there was a sudden flash of smoke, and through Oldbag's coughs I heard Trucy's whisper in my ear. "Come on!" I felt a hand grasp my wrist, and, even though I couldn't see, I followed in the direction it pulled me. Before I knew what happened, we were in the theater, previews playing. She continued to drag me until we had made our way to seats that she deemed acceptable. We sat down, just as my phone buzzed, and she immediately began to throw handfuls of popcorn into her mouth, miraculously catching them all with minimal effort.

I pulled out my smartphone to look at the text I'd received. It was from Larry, saying, "I forgot to mention earlier that the Steel Samurai movie is actually a double feature. There's another kids' movie before it, and then it plays." _Hmm… I suppose I can sit through two movies._

A logo came up on the screen, and I could barely read the name before it disappeared, replaced by a cartoon-style moon in a night sky. The shot panned down, showing a group of six, multi-colored ponies that started speaking to eachother. _What kind of movie is this?! Colorful, talking equines?! I sincerely hope that the other adult men here without a convenient sixteen-year-old niece are simply waiting for the Steel Samurai…_ I crossed my arms and sat back, ready to be bored out of my mind.

I most certainly hate to admit it...But it didn't end up as horrible as I'd imagined. Actually...It was rather...interesting. I decided that I would have to use subtle manipulation to get Trucy to force me to watch the show...for investigative purposes.

After the movie was over, everyone around us began to get up. I figured that there was some sort of intermission, so Trucy and I simply waited. However, after a few minutes, an usher approached us.

"Excuse me, but you need to leave now… The next showing is about to start, and if you want to see it again, you need to pay."

"What?" My brow furrowed, and the teen flinched under my glare. "But this was supposed to be a double feature of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls and The Steel Samurai: Destruction of Neo Olde Tokyo."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know what you're talking about. You're going to have to leave."

"Ngh… Alright."

As Trucy and I made our way over to the concession stand, keeping a cautious eye out for Oldbag, she spoke up. "I wonder what's going on. This doesn't seem like a simple mix up."

"Well…" I glanced up and saw Larry at the ticket desk. "When something smells…" Trucy raised her eyebrow as we walked over, but I ignored her confusion for the moment. "Larry, do you have something to do with this movie misunderstanding?"

"Umm...No." He glanced to the left before scratching the back of his head.

"You are a terrible liar."

"Okay, fine! Nick and I decided to play a little April Fool's joke on you. That's all!"

I rolled my eyes. "It's time we take you home, Trucy." I grabbed her hand and started to lead her off before Larry stopped me.

"Wait, that's all? You're not going to blow up at me or anything? Wait a second...you didn't actually like that movie, did you?!"

I sighed, crossing my arms again. "No, Larry. What in the world would give you such a ludicrous idea as that?"

"Well, you usually aren't so calm about stuff like this!"

"Heh. That is simply because I'm taking the fact that we are discussing _you_, Larry, into account. Mindless, foolish tricks are to be expected." He made a face, as if he wanted to interject, but I continued anyway. "And Wright...Believe me, he will receive his 'punishment' in full, later." I smirked, and pulled Trucy off as she waved at him.

_Oh, yes. This will all be worth it for the look on Wright's face this evening..._

* * *

Author's Note: I was looking at my author's notes from the rest of this story the other day (I dunno why, though), and I realized I'd planned to have a chapter every few days at the beginning.

HA! *Laughs like Calisto Yew*

I swear, this took me a month to write. It's been tough, from being uninspired to struggling to write Oldbag. While I'm here, I'd like to thank my awesome friends Lilac Winters21 and AceFangirl for helping me by previewing sections of this chapter. Thanks guys!

Even though this one was really hard, I think it's also one of the ones I'm most proud of. Edgey's my favorite character, and I love writing him. :D I realize it spends a lot of time with Trucy and Edgey's little game of wits, but I really enjoyed it and hope it doesn't bother you guys _too_ much. ;D This relationship is definitely my new headcannon, though. :D

I also have a few little messages for you this author's note. First of all, this is an Ace Prankster chapter, but only Edgey's car counts. Next, I made a Super Smash Bros and Star Wars reference in there...Props to all who get them. :D Last, I did not come up with the theater name The Deja View. Google is an awesome friend when it comes to punny theater names... ;D Oh, and the Steel Samurai board game is a reference to the Investigations Manga. I don't remember if I've already said you guys should go read it...But you should. ;D

There's only a few more chapters left! Thanks for sticking with me thus far! :D


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